Grace Church School

Grace Church School describes its teaching philosophy as a "pedagogy of joy": students learn best when motivated by delight, wonder, curiosity, meaning, and purpose rather than stress. It pairs high academic expectations with the cultivation of ethical virtue, aiming to build intellectual excellence, critical thinking, a strong sense of self, and lives marked by integrity, compassion, and fulfillment. (gcschool.org)

Grace Church School says applications for the 2026-27 school year are closed; when open, families apply through the Finalsite portal, where they can schedule tours/interviews and submit supplementary forms, and families seeking aid must also complete a separate Clarity financial-aid application. (gcschool.org) For the 2026-27 cycle, the preliminary admissions application and financial-aid application were due December 1, 2025, supplementary materials were due January 8, 2026, and admissions decisions are released from February to early March on ISAAGNY timelines. (gcschool.org) Requirements vary by grade: JK/K/1 include parent interviews and child visits, with 1st grade also sending transcripts; 2nd-4th require interviews, a teacher recommendation, and transcripts; 5th-8th require parent and student interviews, transcripts, two math/English recommendations, ISEE or SSAT testing, and a middle-school essay; and 9th-12th require interviews/tours, transcripts, two teacher recommendations, ISEE or SSAT scores, and a 500-750 word ISAAGNY common essay. (gcschool.org) Grace says it maintains a wait pool through the summer. (gcschool.org) Priority is limited to Junior Kindergarten entry: the school gives preference to children of current families, alumni, faculty/staff, and Grace Church parishioners of at least three years’ standing, and it also says certain JK applicants in sibling/alumni-parent/faculty-staff categories may receive early notification. (gcschool.org)